Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas that is produced during microbial nitrogen transformation processes such as nitrification and denitrification. Soils represent the largest sources of N2O emissions with nitrogen fertilizer application being the main driver of rising atmospheric N2O concentrations. Soil biochar amendment has been proposed as a promising tool to mitigate N2O emission...

Aminocyclopyrachlor is a pyrimidine carboxylic acid herbicide used to control broadleaf weeds and brush. Amending soil with activated charcoal is recommended to prevent off-site transport of aminocyclopyrachlor and non-target plant damage. We used the batch-equilibrium method to determine the concentration of aminocyclopyrachlor in a pseudo-steady state with biochar, soil, and biochar-soil syst...

Executive Summary In the years since the Industrial Revolution, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have steadily risen, causing an associated increase in global warming. In an attempt to remedy some of the effects caused by global warming, various geoengineering schemes have been put forth as possible solutions in resolving the global warming problem. A large portion of these geoengineering solu...

Biochar is an effective means to withdraw carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and consequently influence the trend of global climate change. However, there still are substantial knowledge gaps for this idea to be applicable. One big question is how to produce biochar from biomass on a large scale. Our idea is to use biogas produced from agricultural wastes as thermal energy for biochar pro...

Biochar, a co-product of a controlled pyrolysis process, can be used as a tool for sequestering C in soil to offset greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and as a soil amendment. Whereas the impacts of biochar application on soil chemical properties are widely known, the research information on soil physical properties is scarce. The objectives of this review are to (i) synthesize available data on s...

Application of biochar has many benefits in agriculture, to understand benefits of biochar in crop production and remediation of heavy metal pollution, Asian lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) as an aquatic crop and Chinese sage (Salvia miltiorrhiza) as a traditional medicinal herb were used to evaluate biochar’s effects on plant growth and cadmium (Cd) accumulation in plants in the artificially Cd-pollu...

Biochar (BC) is increasingly applied in agriculture; however, due to its adsorption and degradation properties, biochar may also affect the efficacy of fumigant in amended soil. Our research is intended to study the effects of two types of biochars (BC-1 and BC-2) on the efficacy and emission of methyl isothiocyanate (MITC) in biochar amendment soil. Both types of biochars can significantly red...

A soil incubation experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of biochar application (2% w/w) on urea hydrolysis and inorganic nitrogen accumulation. Fresh biochars were produced from maize stover that was pyrolyzed at 300 °C, 500 °C, and 700 °C. Then the matured biochars were obtained via a 50 days maturing process. Biochar prepared at 700 °C strongly accelerated the urea hydrolysis and...

The characteristics of biochar vary with pyrolysis temperature. Chloropicrin (CP) is an effective fumigant for controlling soil-borne pests. This study investigated the characteristics of biochars prepared at 300, 500, and 700 ◦C by michelia alba (Magnolia denudata) wood and evaluated their capacity to adsorb CP. The study also determined the potential influence of biochar, which was added to s...